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East West Rail: Council leaders 'optimistic' as Government restates the importance of East West Rail

14 November 2016

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East West Rail reports from the ​County Councils National Conference on Monday 7th November, 2016.

The Secretary of State for Transport has confirmed the Government’s commitment to deliver East West Rail at the earliest opportunity.

East West Rail is important and exactly the type of project that is needed to support our growth plans, was the clear message from the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP when he addressed local authority leaders at the County Councils National Conference on Monday 7th November.

His comments, made just weeks before Government sets out its spending priorities in the Autumn Statement, were welcomed by the East West Rail Consortium of local authorities and local enterprise partnerships along the corridor.

Cllr Rodney Rose, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council and Chairman of the Joint Delivery Board for East West Rail Western Section, said: “East West Rail is one of the top three rail investment projects in the UK. Compared to other projects, it is relatively low cost project that will provide an exceptional return on investment and benefits to the communities it will serve. When the Consortium handed its costed Prospectus across to Government in 2011 the scheme was forecast to give back £6 for every £1 spent, and have recouped its cost within five years of operating. It’s also forecast to deliver wider economic benefit to the tune of £200m per year.

“Last year Chiltern Railways started services from the new Oxford Parkway station to London Marylebone via Bicester Village. The service has been an extraordinary success and has already carried more than one million passengers. This service will start operating from and to Oxford city centre within a matter of weeks.

“It’s vital that momentum is maintained and we build on this success to deliver the next phase of East West Rail, from Bicester to Bedford, and Milton Keynes to Aylesbury, so that train services can provide the much-needed connectivity between these key areas of economic activity and population. This is the critical next step in re-establishing the key strategic link between Oxford and Cambridge.

“There is overwhelming support from the public, the business community and investors. We need to crack on and get it built so we can realise the opportunities it presents to boost the economy, create new jobs, support housing growth and improve the quality of life of people in the region.

“Following a period of uncertainty over delays due to pressure on the national rail budget, we’re optimistic that Government will now follow through on its commitment by making funds available for earliest possible completion. We continue to work closely with Department for Transport and Network Rail to make this happen. We look forward to having a clear, realistic and accelerated delivery programme by January 2017.”

Cllr Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and Chairman of England’s Economic Heartland Strategic Alliance, observed: “I’m feeling positive and confident that we are about to see more rapid progress on East West Rail.

“It’s the top infrastructure priority for England’s Economic Heartland Strategic Alliance, and six local enterprise partnerships in the heartland area. Out immediate priority is to see the Western Section completed. This will be a major step towards our long-held aspiration and strategic vision to reintroduce a railway between Bedford and Cambridge, connecting with the East Coast Mainline, to radically improve connectivity from East Anglia, to the rest of the country.

“Detailed development work by the East West Rail Consortium and Network Rail shows there is very strong case for further investment in Bedford – Sandy – Cambridge railway. And work by six local enterprise partnerships, and the National Infrastructure Commission all shows that East West Rail is absolutely key to unlocking the economic potential of this region.”

Chaired by Iain Stewart MP, the corridor's official champion, it builds on the East West Rail APPG with a wider remit that reflects the challenges and opportunities of the region, which has the potential to become the UK's answer to Silicon Valley.

East West Rail’s full potential to enhance north-south connectivity across the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge growth arc depends on harnessing additional capacity on the West Coast Mainline which HS2 will create